East Lothian (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with East Lothian (UK Parliament constituency).

East Lothian
county constituency for the Scottish Parliament
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East Lothian shown within the South Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Current constituency
Created	1999
Party	Labour
MSP	Iain Gray
Council area	East Lothian

East Lothian is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Electoral region

See also: South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, Dumfriesshire, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Galloway and West Dumfries, Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area, part of the East Ayrshire council area, part of the East Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, the Scottish Borders council area, the South Ayrshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

Constituency boundaries and council area

The East Lothian constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.

The Holyrood constituency covers most of the East Lothian council area. The remainder is represented by the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency.

Following their first Periodic Review into Scottish Parliament constituencies, the Boundary Commission for Scotland recommended the formation of a modified East Lothian, with the Musselburgh electorate wards part of a redrawn Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency.

East Lothian is formed from the following electoral wards:

• Preston/Seton/Gosford, Fa’side, North Berwick Coastal, Haddington and Lammermuir, Dunbar and East Linton

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Member		Party	Took office	Left office
	Iain Gray	Labour	2007	present
	John Home Robertson	Labour	1999	2007

Election results

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: East Lothian

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Douglas-James Johnston-Smith
	Labour	Iain Gray
	Conservative	Rachael Hamilton

Scottish Parliament election, 2011: East Lothian

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Iain Gray	12,536	38.95	+4.5%
	SNP	David Berry	12,385	38.49	+10.7%
	Conservative	Derek Brownlee	5,344	16.60	-2.6%
	Liberal Democrats	Ettie Spencer	1,912	5.94	-12.6%
Majority			151	0.5%
Turnout			32,177	56.9%

Scottish Parliament election, 2007 Notional Result: East Lothian

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		10,822	34.5
	SNP		8,713	27.8
	Conservative		6,032	19.2
	Liberal Democrats		5,822	18.5
Majority			2,109	6.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Scottish Parliament election, 2007: East Lothian
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Iain Gray	12,219	35.4	-8.4
	SNP	Andrew Sharp	9,771	28.4	+11.8
	Liberal Democrats	Judy Hayman	6,249	18.1	+1.3
	Conservative	Bill Stevenson	6,232	18.1	+0.6
Majority			2,448	7.1
Turnout			34,471	56.2	3.5

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: East Lothian
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Home Robertson	13,683	43.85	−7.29
	Liberal Democrats	Judy Hayman	5,508	17.65	+ 6.62
	Conservative	Stuart Thomson	5,459	17.49	+ 1.68
	SNP	Tom Roberts	5,174	16.58	−5.44
	Scottish Socialist	Hugh Kerr	1,380	4.42	+ 4.42
Majority			8,175	26.20	−2.93
Turnout			31,204,	52.69	−11.47
	Labour hold		Swing

Scottish Parliament election, 1999: East Lothian
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Home Robertson	19,220	51.14	n/a
	SNP	Calum Millar	8,274	22.02	n/a
	Conservative	Christine Richards	5,941	15.81	n/a
	Liberal Democrats	Judy Hayman	4,147	11.03	n/a
Majority			10,946	29.13	n/a
Turnout					n/a